Linda Kasabian - a member of the notorious Manson cult led by Charles Manson - has reportedly passed away in Washington State. <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/02/28/charles-manson-family-linda-kasabian-dead-dies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TMZ</a> reported that the 73-year-old died in a Tacoma hospital on January 21, with her body subsequently cremated. A cause of death was apparently not disclosed. Though, according to a death certificate obtained by <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2023/02/28/charles-manson-family-linda-kasabian-dead-dies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TMZ</a>, she had changed her surname to Chiochios to distance herself from the Manson family and protect her identity. Kasabian had received immunity in exchange for becoming a key prosecution witness in the 1970-1971 Manson trial, and her shocking court testimony helped prosecutors convict Manson and several other cult members, which saw them sent to prison for life. She acted as a driver and lookout during the nights the Manson family went on a depraved killing spree across Los Angeles in 1969, the <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/linda-kasabian-manson-family-member-dead-at-73-tmz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Beast</a> detailed. [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_IY1lfDM88]] Having spent his early adulthood in prison, Manson was released in 1967 and moved to California where he managed to attract a group of hippies, and set up a commune on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Eventually, a cult began to form as Manson preached his eccentric religious teachings to his followers, who called themselves a "family," per <a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/manson-cult-kills-five-people" target="_blank" rel="noopener">History</a>. The cult is notorious for their involvement in the 1969 murder of Roman Polanski's wife, 26-year-old actress Sharon Tate - who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time. She had been stabbed by members of the Manson family up to 16 times, and a rope tied around her neck connected her to the body of celebrity hairstylist Jay Sebring, according to the <a href="https://archive.org/details/helterskeltertru00bugl_0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Helter Skelter</a> novel by Vincent Bugliosi. The word "PIG" was written on the front door of the house in Tate's blood. <img class="wp-image-1263197587 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/02/E0XY3Y-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1967" height="2560" />[[imagecaption|| Tate and Polanski photographed at their 1968 wedding. Credit: Keystone Press / Alamy]] Polanski, now 89, has previously spoken about the tragic murder of his wife and friends, telling <a href="https://worldcrunch.com/culture-society/the-roman-polanski-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Swiss TV</a> in 2011 that he fled Los Angeles for Switzerland soon after Tate's death as a result of the intense media coverage. "Before Manson was found, I was even suspected of being involved. This got the media tremendously excited because I had just finished the film Rosemary's Baby, which is about black magic, so they immediately mixed everything up. "The media love that kind of story, and it snowballed," he added. A fictional account of Tate's story hit cinema screens in Quentin Tarantino's last flick, 2019's Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood. Margot Robbie starred as the slain actress in the movie, which also includes loose references to the Manson family and its various members. <h6>Featured image credit: PictureLux / The Hollywood Archive / Alamy</h6>

Manson family member Linda Kasabian dies aged 73

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